Kumusta from the MTC

Wowowow! I've only been at the MTC since Wednesday afternoon, and we have already done SO MUCH. It's all a blur! But... I LOVE IT!

So first, I got my name tag and some other documents, then my host took me to my room. We dropped off my bags then I went straight to class! I was the first one there. MY TEACHERS WERE ONLY SPEAKING TAGALOG! I was so so so confused, because they were trying to tell me to do things, and I had no idea what they were saying :') but I figured it out! They had some greeting phrases on the board that we would read, so it was like we were having a conversation with them. It was fun! We did that until more missionaries in my district started showing up. When they came, we started introducing ourselves in Tagalog (reading ALL of it from the board obviously haha!!). So we did that for a while, and everyone's companions were there except mine! So I was alone for a while, but all is well, because she is here now! :) My companion is Sister Lor! I love her!! We actually knew each other through Instagram, so it has been so fun getting to know her in person and work with her!! :) There is one other companionship of Sisters in our district. I went to school with one of them!! We share a room with those Sisters! They are all so fun! :)

After class, we went to the New Missionary Orientation. Every single missionary that reported to the MTC that day attended this meeting at the same time. There were SO many of us! Out of all the new missionaries in that room that day, guess who one of the members of the MTC presidency approached and asked to say the opening prayer... ME! I was kind of nervous because there were so many people, but it was a good opportunity! :) What I really loved during this orientation is when we sang We'll Bring the World His Truth. Instead of saying, "We will be the Lord's missionaries, to bring the world His truth" we sang "We ARE NOW the Lord's missionaries." That hit me! I started tearing up! I am a missionary now!!

After that, we went to dinner. I think the food here is great! I don't know why so many people say it's bad! I guess I've only been here for about 3 days though... so maybe I'll change my mind! Haha! :) So my family kept making fun of me because I'm really bad at waking up in the morning, and here at the MTC we are supposed to wake up at 6:30 am. Well, I'm happy to announce that, not only has no one had to drag me out of bed or pour water on me to wake me up, but my companion and I wake up earlier than we need to! We wake up at 6 am! I know we've only had two night's here, but it really isn't that hard to wake up in the morning! Plus, the lights in our bedroom are brighter than the sun, so that really wakes you up/keeps you awake! haha! :)

We did a lot Thursday. We have a lot of classroom instruction learning Tagalog. Our teachers very rarely speak English. Only a few words or phrases in English here and there. The first day I was pretty confident I could learn the language, but after our last class Thursday, I got really worried! We are being taught so much Tagalog that I feel like my brain is exploding! It's also frustrating because we have to use all words we know in Tagalog and use them instead of the English word when we're talking, so it's hard to explain things and ask questions. Sometimes I feel like I can't get help! It's crazy though, because any time I've had doubts about my abilities or fear I won't be able to learn the language, I just pray for help from Heavenly Father, and I get it! I seriously can't tell you how many tender mercies I've received just these past couple days. Doubt and fear comes from the Adversary, not from God. That is so important to remember. Not only on a mission, but also in everyday life. I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for me and is eagerly waiting for me to ask for help so he can bless me and show me the way. And that is the same for all of you! Through Him and our Savior Jesus Christ, we can accomplish anything!! Even learning Tagalog :') haha! 

Thursday night, our zone met for a meeting to get to know each other and our branch presidency + their wives. All the missionaries in our zone stood up one-by-one, introduced ourselves to everyone in the room, and bore a brief testimony. Then, we each had a personal interview with a member of the branch presidency about how we were doing. It took over 3 hours to get through everyone! I'm glad their wives had a lesson for us while we were waiting! After all the interviews, the branch presidency announced who they decided to assign to Zone Leaders, District Leaders, and the Sister Training Leaders. It turns out the branch presidency decided to assign my companion and I to be the Sister Training Leaders of our zone! So that is exciting! We got a binder that outlines our responsibilities. We have more to do now, but you can't grow if you're not uncomfortable. So, this is a great opportunity :) I can't wait to serve my Zone with my companion as their Sister Training Leaders!

For Pday today, we started the day by going to the temple!! It was so peaceful!! It was a great way to get away from all you have to do and just reflect and feel the Spirit. The temple is closing for the month of July, which is kind of sad! I'll definitely be taking advantage of the time we do have to go before it closes. And we won't be here in August to go either. I found out that we stay at the Provo MTC for 6 weeks, then we go to the Manila MTC for a week! That will be fun! :)

Well, I am just having the greatest time here at the MTC!! :) I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! The Spirit is so strong here. I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity! I can't wait to tell you more next week! :) :)

Love you all so much!!! :)

-Sister Durrant